Friend or foe?

This dog may well be judged as ferocious, as she looks at me through the window. It is not only books that should not be judged by their covers, neither should dogs. This one, my Elsa, is greeting me. This is only half a smile, the full smile has a wrinkled nose as well, she looks as though she is about to bite.
I have seen a couple of dogs display like this as a form of greeting but only since I came to Greece. Is it common to other dogs as well?
On one occasion I had to take her to the vet. It was full of pedigree dogs. Only Elsa was a commoner. She walked around slowly 'smiling; at everyone. Fortunately they knew dogs well enough to realise that she was being friendly.

Not in the least angry, she smiles at some of our visitors too, the ones she knows. It isn't just the face, the rest of the body language counts too, her hair does not rise and she does not make any sound at all. Not even a hint of a growl.

@41CombedaleRoad I would love to see Elsa's smile up close and personal!! Molly has a different smile than Elsa, but when I walk her and she is has having a great time, she will look back and smile at me as we walk. It is a smile that says, "Aren't we having fun, Mom?"

Yes, I've seen a few dogs to that and it's comical if you understand dog behavior.
Sadly, too many people only know what little they've seen the more vicious types do and attribute any kind of behavior like this as vicious. It's a shame they're the ones who others look to for dog advice.